We know that AI is everywhere, but it’s still worth taking a moment to think about what the year ahead has in store for us. We present our thoughts on the most meaningful forces driving changes for performance marketers in 2024. 

1. AI Transforms Supply

Artificial intelligence is redefining how we find and access information information, which means the surfaces for advertising will continue to evolve. AI-driven Search, like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Perplexity, and even Google Gemini, is better than a page full of links.

A new report suggests retail is now in a ‘post-omnichannel’ era, with customer context and understanding behaviours now key. The increased costs of running online retail operations in the ‘post-omnichannel’ era mean the in-store channel is becoming more competitive and offers an opportunity for retailers, according to a new report.

In the 2024 edition of its Omnichannel report, GlobalData states: “We now believe that online has moved into a post-omnichannel era,” which it suggests was prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Retailers and brands have faced a challenging 2024, making a successful holiday season more crucial than ever. According to Adobe Analytics, online shoppers spent a record-breaking $10.8 billion this Black Friday. The biggest retail event of the year gave Listrak’s savvy clients an opportunity to outperform the competition and win consumer dollars with AI-powered, hyper-targeted, omnichannel messaging. Our experts have crunched the numbers and analyzed retailer strategy and results in order to bring you an informative recap of our Black Friday retail marketing data.

Retailers are challenged to deliver connected customer experiences across touchpoints, but they often lack data integration from these channels and cohesive communication across teams. This results in missed opportunities to provide a cohesive and personalized shopper journey. With disconnected data management, retailers risk delivering inconsistent messaging, confusing promotions, and disjointed experiences that deter customers from converting and becoming loyal brand advocates.

In today’s competitive retail landscape, where 84% of retail sales continue to occur in-store, engaging consumers at the point of purchase is more critical than ever (Emarketer, May 2024). Vibenomics recognizes that in-store advertising gives brands and advertisers a unique opportunity to influence shopper behavior at the moment of purchase decisions.

To better understand this dynamic, Vibenomics conducted a comprehensive survey with Suzy Market Research that gathered insights from 1,070 shoppers between the ages of 18 and 73. These participants, all of whom identified as primary or shared shoppers of their household, provided valuable perspectives on the shopping journey and the impact of in-store advertising on purchase decisions. The findings of this survey offer a deep dive into the power of in-store advertising and its pivotal role in influencing shopper behavior in today’s retail environment.

As retail media networks expand, standardized measurement is more crucial than ever. In an omnichannel world where in-store media and digital advertising converge, brands and retailers need consistent metrics to evaluate the true impact of their campaigns. Standardization ensures accuracy, transparency, and comparability across retail environments, driving better decision-making and optimizing campaign performance.

When Nespresso opens a boutique cafe, it sees sales spike online in that same geographic region. The halo effect that its boutiques have on online sales is one reason Nespresso opened its thirty-ninth boutique this November in the University Village Mall in Seattle.

The modern boutique boasts a colorful mural by a local artist, a millennial pink countertop for sipping coffee inside and a walk-up window for to-go orders brewed from a B2B version of a Nespresso machine. While people are in the shop, they can check out the Nespresso machines on display and the rainbow assortments of Nespresso capsules. A handful of those people go home with a machine, while others end up closing the deal online.

Are your customer loyalty programs over-reliant on incentivisation to drive engagement? Do loyalty members lose interest over time, disengage, or jump ship to competitor brands faster than you can say “Black Friday flash sale?” It may be time to breathe new life into your loyalty efforts. If it’s fresh inspiration you’re after, this guide is a great place to start.

What’s Inside

In this guide, we take a pragmatic look at: